Most Popular Recipes of 2017

Most popular recipes of 2017 include a mix of quick-and-easy breakfast, dinner, and dessert recipes and crowd-pleasing showstoppers.

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start! As always, I like to kick off the new year by looking back at the previous year’s most popular recipes on Barbara Bakes. Most of the recipes on this list weren’t a surprise to me—they have consistently been among my top-performing recipes for years.

The 10 Most Popular Recipes in 2017

Seriously, think of this cookie as an easy-to-serve, easy-to-eat, hard-to-resist lemon bar. The lemon curd is smooth as satin and the tart lemon flavor is a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cookies. (Bonus—the extra lemon curd makes an awesome oatmeal topping and keeps in the freezer for up to 2 months!)

I have a confession: I hate making cake pops! For many of us, they just can be so tricky to get right—dry, crumbly, and difficult to shape and dip. By using brownies, you get the same darling look of cake pops but with rich, fudgy goodness. This recipe is super easy to make (they start with a boxed brownie mix!), and you can dress them up any way you like—caramel and white chocolate for a Valentine’s surprise, colorful candy chips for a birthday, or blue and pink candy melts for the perfect baby shower dessert!

This one is a show-stopper, and it tastes as good as it looks! A tip for perfect-looking cheesecake: after cooling, if any of the cheesecake hasn’t pulled away from the edges, I use a flat spatula to loosen it from the edge before opening my springform pan. Also, if you need to smooth your edges or top, you can put the spatula under hot running water and lightly run it across the cheesecake to smooth it out.

Sure, you could buy a loaf of French bread from the grocery store. But if you’re in the mood for something special, for the smell of fresh-baked bread and a crackly crust, I’ve adapted Julia Child’s classic recipe to use instant yeast and a Kitchen Aid mixer. (And if you need a good belly laugh, please revisit this Julia Child and David Letterman video—her humor, bravado, and fearlessness in the kitchen are an inspiration!)

These muffins really deserve their name—they are the best-tasting blueberry muffins I’ve ever had! If you have everything assembled, from-scratch muffins don’t take much more time than muffins from a box. Tip for using frozen blueberries: rinse them in lukewarm water until the water runs clear and leave them in the strainer to continue to drain and thaw while you prep the batter. (This will help keep your batter from turning blue and thaw them enough so they don’t hinder the cook time.)

This coffee cake adds lemon zest to the batter and drizzles the struesel topping with a tart lemon glaze that perfectly balances out the sweet and tart. I really love how adaptable this recipe is—readers have had great results subbing in raspberries and limes for a new spin on this old favorite.

This bread is guaranteed to make your kitchen smell delicious! When I want them to look perfect coming out, I’ll grease the pans and then cut parchment to make a sling that extends a few inches out of each side of the pan. Carefully spoon the batter in the pans to ensure it stays above the parchment, bake, and cool 10 minutes. Then use the sling to carefully lift the loaves to cool completely on a cooling rack.

These Mexican pizzas are easy to make, and I almost always have the ingredients on hand. It’s a really filling lunch or dinner. Quite often, I’ll use frozen leftover taco meat (chicken, beef, pork, whatever), which gets this meal on the table even quicker!

I bake this dessert a lot in the summer—and any time I need to feel a little summertime in my life! The cake itself has a mild key lime flavor, and the tart glaze gives it the perfect lime burst. I also love to make this for smaller get togethers so I can glaze one small bundt to serve and put the other in the freezer for when I need a quick dessert!

I always love a good quiche, but my husband only wants quiche that’s loaded with meat. I like to put the filling in the par-baked crust then pour the eggs on top so the meat and cheese are more evenly distributed. If you’re having a big crowd over for breakfast, you can even cook it the day before and reheat it in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.

So there you have it: the top 10 from 2017!

However, for me, 2017 wouldn’t feel complete without mentioning my favorite recipe from 2017: my Lemon Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast. If you’re looking for a knockout breakfast—one that’s dressed to impress AND has everyone saying “Mmmm” with every bite—look no further. And the secret: it’s actually really easy to make. (Seriously, if you’re going to take a “cheat day,” I can’t think of a better way to spend it!)

3 comments on “Most Popular Recipes of 2017”

Barbara, I have been a pretty good cook over the years raising my family and entertaining. However, I’ve never really known the art of baking! So I would resort to buying rolls or making desserts that didn’t require crusts, would not serve cakes, or would just go buy something from a bakery. The memory of my mother’s homemade rolls or a friend’s homemade sweet rolls that my grown children still talk about has haunted me! But now I have discovered YOU! Your website is wonderful! The recipes are so clear, with pictures and explanations that are precise and exact. I feel confident and excited to start this baking adventure, even as a grandmother! For Christmas brunch, I made overnight Monkey Bread for the family that they went wild over! (I had tested it out the week before and gave it to the valet men in our building’s garage and the men were thrilled!) Yesterday I made Lion House Rolls to go with a Pot Roast dinner on a frigid night in Chicago. Such a comforting dinner. Nothing like the sweet smell of yeasty homemade rolls! I can hardly wait to try something else! (Maybe your Key Lime Pound Cake!) Of course, we will have to do a better job of getting to the gym with this new found hobby! Thank you so much!